Geri Stengel's blog

So you think you want to be a philanthropist or a social entrepreneur, to use your hard-earned talents to make the world a better place.

In spite of their reputation as communicators and collaborators, women lag behind other small business owners when it comes to using social media and other online marketing tactics, according to Ditch Digital Dabbling: How Small Businesses + Nonprofits Can Master Online Marketing a survey conducted by Ventureneer (my company) and Message Medium.

Andre Liu and his partners at MimoMonitors brought an online PR expert on board before they built their website. Online press releases and the reviews by bloggers and columnists that they generate are very important to them. In fact, they are virtually the only form of marketing the company does, other than appearances at a few trade shows.

Moving your business ahead may require that you step back … way back.

LinkedIn isn’t some stodgy place where people post their resumes. It’s a no- to low-cost database that is a rich source of information about potential major donors, board members, employees, and strategic allies.

Let’s face it: When you’re the head of a small business, you want to develop your leadership skills and, if you are like most entrepreneurs, contribute to your community. What if you could do good and beef up your leadership skills at the same time? As a business owner, you have more than money to contribute. Being on the board of a nonprofit is great way to give back. It is also a great way to improve your leadership skills.

Change is needed in the way we address social and environmental needs. Resources, most especially money, are tighter while the need is increasing, according to a recent survey conducted by the Nonprofit Finance Fund.

What do Robin Chase of Zipcar, Gail Goodman of Constant Contact ,and Linda Hall Keller of MinuteClinic have in common? They’re all women-led companies that have gone through Springboard programs.

Consumers have the power to change the world. If they demand corporate responsibility from those who provide goods and services, corporations will become more socially responsible.

Perhaps it’s women’s natural instinct to nurture or maybe high-impact entrepreneurs know that you can’t sustain rapid growth without employees who deliver excellent products and customer service. It’s both, according to Marsha Firestone, President of the Women Presidents’ Organization (WPO), which compiled a list of the 50 Fastest Growing Women-Owned/led Companies in North America sponsored by American Express OPEN, it’s both.